


First Times

by helsinkibaby



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: 5 Things, Age Difference, Community: 1-million-words, F/M, Rare Pairings, february bingo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-13
Updated: 2015-02-13
Packaged: 2018-03-12 06:21:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3346766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five first times for Joe and Caitlin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	First Times

**Author's Note:**

> February Bingo: prompt "first time"

The first time he meets her, he barely even notices her. All his attention is on Barry, the kid he's raised as his own since he was eleven years old, lying in a coma. He wants answers, wants to know when he'll wake up - and it's always when, never if. He mostly talks to Doctor Wells, accepts his help gratefully and he barely shakes the hand of the pale female doctor at Wells's side. 

*

Over the course of the next nine months, he becomes familiar with her. He knows her name is Doctor Caitlin Snow, knows she's very efficient and good at her job, knows that she answers all his questions as well as she can, no matter how inane they must sound to someone like her. 

He notices that she never smiles, always looks sad and he finds out why when he finally gets around to running a background check on her - he does it to Cisco too, doesn't bother with Wells because he's had Sunday dinners with Barry for years, knows all about Barry's genius hero. When he learns about Caitlin's fiancé, her demeanour makes a lot more sense, as does the long hours she spends tending to Barry - it's like she can't bear to lose anyone else. 

That point is brought home to him the first time that he really notices her, when he's standing in the middle of S.T.A.R. Labs trying to get Barry to realise that he could really hurt himself with these new powers of his. Barry flat out says he's wrong, he can tell Wells and Cisco agree with Barry, while Caitlin is the one who, when he's throwing around accusations, stands up to him and says, "Don't look at me, I'm on your side."

It's nice to know someone is.

*

The first time he tells her to call him Joe, she's on the phone to him, asking him if he can send her the brain scans of the people involved in the meta human bank robbery. "If it's not too much trouble," she says and he's already calling up his email program. 

"It's no problem," he says, waiting for the computer to do its thing. "And hey, I think we've moved beyond formalities here... you can call me Joe, you know."

"Yes, Detective." There's a huff of breath and he can picture the face she's making, eyes shut, nose scrunched up as she grimaces. "Sorry."

He chuckles, grateful for the moment of levity. "The scans are on their way."

"Thank you, Det... Joe."

He can hear the smile in her voice when she hangs up the phone. 

*

The first time she actually calls him Joe without some sort of stutter from her or a raised eyebrow from him is in his house at Christmas. It's been a hell of a few days for both of them, tracking down Reverse Flash for him, Ronnie's unexpected resurrection for her. They certainly deserve a night off, a few precious hours of downtime and when the tree is lit up, star atop, when the eggnog is flowing and everyone is if not merry and bright then at least halfway to merry, Joe almost thinks they're going to get to enjoy themselves. 

Then Iris and Eddie leave first - and as her dad, he really doesn't want to think too hard about why - and Barry's mood takes a turn for the less than chipper. Cisco takes it upon himself to try to cheer him up and Joe's shaking his head at the punchbowl, wondering if he can forgo Grandma Esther's special recipe and just head straight for the bourbon when she appears at his side. 

"Thanks for the invite, Joe," she says. There's a small smile on her face that does nothing to hide the sadness in her eyes. 

Joe shrugs, lifts the ladle in offering and when she nods, he spoons a generous portion into her empty mug. After a second of deliberation he decides to join her with an equally generous serving. "We didn't celebrate Christmas last year," he says and he's guessing she didn't either. "Thought it'd be nice to have everyone together... one big happy family."

This time, the smile is starting to reach her eyes. "I like the sound of that."

She sounds doubtful, hesitant, like she's not sure she fits, not sure she believes it. "We're kinda big on found family around here," he reminds her. "Nice to have a few more members."

She looks around, surveys the room and when she looks back at him, it's with a real smile. "I'll drink to that," she says, raising her mug. 

He raises his own to hers and joins her. 

*

The first time he's scared for her is when Leonard Snart kidnaps her to get to The Flash. 

When he sees her car caked in frost, windows broken, his blood runs cold and making that phone call to Barry is one of the hardest things he's ever had to do. 

Seeing that tape, those two lunatics taunting his kid, one of them manhandling Caitlin, makes him angrier than he's been in quite a while, makes his, "Damn right we do," of earlier seem like nothing at all. 

The whole day, he walks around with a knot in his stomach and he tells himself it's because he knows how much Caitlin means to Barry, how he's come to rely on her, trust her, how Barry's lost so much in his short life and Joe doesn't want him to lose anyone else. 

He almost believes it himself. 

He manages to hold onto that notion right up until he and Cisco go to rescue her, until he sees her shaking her head, urging Cisco not to approach her. He figures out there's a trip wire an instant before Cisco breaks it and he might not be Barry-fast but that instant is all he needs to be moving towards her, knocking her out of the way, partially covering her body with his own. When the blast recedes, the first thing he hears is her voice saying, "I thought I was going to die," and Cisco takes the words right out of his mouth. 

"Not while I'm around," he says, with the biggest grin Joe's ever seen on his face. He still side eyes the kid until he amends that Joe had something to do with it too. Caitlin smiles, pulls Cisco into a tight hug and when they have her standing properly on shaky legs, she surprises Joe when she turns to him, wraps her arms around his neck and whispers, "Thank you."

He hugs her back, tries not to notice how tiny she is against him, tries not to notice the shudder along her shoulder blades and absolutely resists with everything in him the urge to pull her closer, cup the back of her head in his hand and bury his face in her hair. 

That's when he knew that while the immediate danger might be neutralised, he's still in more trouble than he ever thought possible. 


End file.
